The FZN football team advanced to the Semi-Final round of the MSHSAA Class 5 playoffs with a 24 – 21 victory over Chaminade. The game was a hard fought struggle that saw the Panthers battle back from an early 14 – 0 deficit. The Panthers, who had scored 60 plus in their two previous games, struggled to move the ball at times against the Red Devils. Credit to Chaminade for posting a spirited defensive effort. The atypical night for the offense was not the case for the Panthers defense as the Panthers held the Red Devils in check most of the night. The defense held highly regarded MU recruit Brady Cook to under 200 yards passing and under a 50% completion percentage on the evening. Leading the way for the Panthers were standouts: Max Martin with 11 tackles, Izaiah Hartrup with 9 tackles, Cario Payne with 8 tackles and Robert Rezex and Chris Futrell who each recorded 7 tackles. The stingy Panther secondary, made up of: Hartrup, Payne, Rezex and Jalen Lee did an outstanding job of blanketing the Red Devil receivers throughout the game. Lee turned in the Panthers only interception of the night, a turnover that led to the Panthers second touchdown. Gavin Sticker notched another bid defensive play when he recovered a fumble near the goal-line that opened the door for the Panthers to score their first touchdown of the game.
Although the Panther offense did not supply their typical array of fireworks, it was not without it’s highlights. The Panthers triple-option attack saw both Chris Futrell (15 carries for 95 yards) and Izaiah Hartrup (7 carries for 98 yards) near the 100-yard mark. Hartrup and Futrell both scored rushing touchdowns for the Panthers. Cario Payne netted a total of 80 yards on 24 carries with a score. Payne’s dynamic run in the 4th quarter on a 4th and long, that kept the game clock moving, was one of the key plays of the game. Tyler Oaks rounded out the Panther rushing attack as he carried the ball 4 times for 18 yards and a touchdown. The 3-point margin of victory was provided courtesy of an Owen Sears field-goal early in the 4th quarter. The Sears field goal was made possible by the hold of Jack Newcomb, who was able to get a bad snap down in time for Sears to connect.
This Saturday (November 30th) the Panthers will host the Carthage Tigers in the Class 5 Semi-Final round. Carthage enters the game with a 10 – 2 record. It is the 3rd time the Tigers have advanced to the semi-finals in the last 5 years. The Panthers will be playing in their 4th Semi-Final in school history and hosting a semi-final game for just the second time. They lost to Jefferson City in 1977 and Pattonville in 2017. The Panthers defeated Battle in 2016 when they made their only appearance in Missouri’s “Show-Me Bowl”. Admission to Saturday’s game is $7.00 pm. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm.